LeBron Raymone James (born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association. Nicknamed "King James", he was a three-time "Mr. Basketball" of Ohio in high school, and was highly promoted in the national media as a future NBA superstar while still a sophomore at St. Vincent–St. Mary High School. At just 18, he was selected with the number one pick in the 2003 NBA draft by the Cavaliers and signed a US$90 million shoe contract with Nike before his professional debut. Listed as a small forward, James has set numerous youngest player records since joining the league. He was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2003–04, NBA Most Valuable Player in 2008–09, and has been both All-NBA and an All-Star every season since 2005.
The focal point of the Cleveland offense, James has led the team to consecutive playoff appearances from 2006 through 2009. In 2007, the Cavaliers advanced to the Conference Finals for the first time since 1992 and to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. Runner-up in the 2009 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award balloting,[1] James has also been a member of the USA national team, winning a bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics and gold at the 2008 Olympics.
NBA career
James was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the first overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. Facing the Sacramento Kings in his first NBA game, James recorded 25 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals and shot 60% from the floor.During the after-game press conference, James was asked who he wanted to be like the most and his answer was Jason Kidd. James had admired Kidd since he took the floor in 1994 and dedicated his first triple-double to him. James praised Kidd by saying he was the best point guard alive today, and his passing abilities were second to none. After recording a season-high 41 points against the New Jersey Nets, James became the youngest player in league history to score at least 40 points in a game. He averaged 20.9 points, 5.9 assists, and 5.5 rebounds per game for the season, and was named 2003-04 NBA Rookie of the Year; becoming the first Cavalier and youngest NBA player to ever receive the award.He joined Oscar Robertson and Michael Jordan as the only players in NBA history to average at least 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists per game in their rookie season.The Cavaliers improved by 18 wins and concluded the regular season with a 35–47 record, but failed to make the playoffs.
2008–09 season
"Answering" a 61-point game by Kobe Bryant two days before, James nearly scored the first 50-point triple-double since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975, when he recorded 52 points, 11 assists, and 9 rebounds against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on February 4.[42][43] The game was originally counted as a triple-double, but the NBA later took away one rebound.[44]
On January 23, during a game at the Oracle Arena against Golden State Warriors, the Cavaliers were down by 1 (CLE: 104 GSW: 105) with 4.7 seconds left. Mo Williams inbounded the ball to LeBron James, and James nailed a game winning step-back jumper over Ronny Turiaf at the buzzer, giving the Cleveland Cavaliers a 106-105 victory. It was his first career buzzer beater that sealed the deal with a win.[citation needed]
On February 14, at the All-Star Game in Phoenix, when asked by Cheryl Miller whether he would participate in the 2010 Slam Dunk Contest, he said that he was, following the path of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
James scored 55 points in a win over the Milwaukee Bucks on February 20, 2009. From March 10 to March 13, he posted three triple-doubles in a row against the Miami Heat, the Los Angeles Clippers and the Phoenix Suns, making him the leader in the league for this category in front of Chris Paul with seven triple-doubles in a season.
On March 25, James tallied 22 points, 11 assists and 8 rebounds in a 98-87 win against the New Jersey Nets. With this win, the Cleveland Cavaliers improved their record to 58–13 and exceeded their previous franchise record 57–25, set in the 1988-89 and 1991-92 NBA seasons. They ended with the 66-16 record, after losing their final home game to the Philadelphia 76ers in overtime. The Cavaliers had a chance to tie the NBA home record which is held by the Boston Celtics (40-1), but they ended at 39-2, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers and the 76ers.
The most significant improvements in LeBron's game were his improved defense, with 23 chase-down blocks (93 blocks in total, career-high) and free-throw shooting (career-high 78.0% free-throw percentage with league-leading 594 free-throws made). He was the NBA Player of the Month four times, making him only the second player in NBA history to do that, after Kevin Garnett did so in his 2003-04 MVP season. In addition, he was only the fourth player in NBA history to lead his team in all five major statistical categories (total points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks) in one season.
The Cleveland Cavaliers swept the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the 2009 NBA Playoffs. James averaged 32.0 points, 11.3 rebounds and 7.5 assists in the series and became just the third player in NBA history to average at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in a postseason series. At the end of the last game, in which he tallied 36 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists on 16-17 free throw shooting, there were MVP chants for him in The Palace of Auburn Hills.On May 4, he was announced as the NBA Most Valuable Player. He became the youngest player as well as the first Cavaliers player in history to win the award. He was also named to the NBA All-Defensive Team for the first time in his career.In the next series in the playoffs, James once again led his team to a sweep against the Atlanta Hawks.
On May 22, during Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Orlando Magic's Hedo Türkoğlu shot a 12-foot jumper to give the Magic a 2-point lead with 1 second left. Following a Cleveland timeout, Williams inbounded the ball to James, but heavy defense by Türkoğlu denied James a chance at a tying layup. James then attempted and successfully made a three-point shot over Türkoğlu, giving the Cavs a 96-95 victory to tie the series 1-1.
Awards and honors
Main article: List of career achievements by LeBron James
* NBA Most Valuable Player: 2009
* NBA Rookie of the Year: 2004
* NBA All-Rookie First Team: 2004
* NBA Scoring Champion: 2008
* 2-time NBA All-Star Game MVP: 2006, 2008
* 5-time NBA All-Star: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
* 5-time All-NBA:
o First Team: 2006, 2008, 2009
o Second Team: 2005, 2007
* 1-time NBA All-Defensive:
o First Team: 2009
* Bronze medal with Team USA, 2004 Summer Olympic Games
* Gold medal with Team USA, 2008 Summer Olympic Games
* Bronze medal with Team USA, 2006 FIBA World Championship
* Gold medal with Team USA, 2007 FIBA Americas Championship
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